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Boston Bruins Assign Jakub Lauko To AHL

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With the Boston Bruins now at home for two games, they’ve returned extra forward Jakub Lauko to the AHL. The Providence Bruins don’t actually play until Friday, meaning Lauko will be available for an immediate recall if needed.

Lauko, 22, scored his first NHL goal earlier this month and should get another chance to get into the Boston lineup before long. The third-round pick hasn’t been used much but has two points and 14 hits in seven contests. Should he stay down long enough to play for Providence it would be his first of the season, after scoring just three goals in 54 games a year ago.

While he isn’t expected to be a huge offensive performer, Lauko will be quality depth for the bottom six throughout the year. Still waiver-exempt, he can bounce up and down whenever necessary. He’s already been involved in seven transactions since the beginning of the year.

Columbus Blue Jackets Assign David Jiricek, Daniil Tarasov To AHL

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More roster moves coming out late this afternoon, the latest features the Columbus Blue Jackets, who announced they’ve assigned defenseman David Jiricek and goaltender Daniil Tarasov to the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL. The team has not announced any corresponding moves. Columbus was under the salary cap and with the maximum 23 players on their roster.

Sending the pair down when they didn’t technically need to might be confusing for some, however the move may have less to do with the Blue Jackets or individual player performance and more to do with development strategy. Jiricek, the sixth-overall selection in this year’s NHL Draft, played in just two games with Columbus, the last coming a week ago on October 30th. Similarly, Tarasov was the third goalie on the Blue Jackets roster behind Elvis Merzlikins and the recently-activated Joonas Korpisalo. At 23-years-old, after struggling in five games to start the season, and also not having played since last Sunday, sending Tarasov, as well as Jiricek, to the AHL where they can both play regularly, makes the most sense.

Tarasov has seen limited action since coming over to North American during the 2020-21 season, and based on that performance, still needs time to develop. In five games at the NHL level this season, Tarasov has a 3.57 goals-against average and .893 save-percentage. The goaltender played in just 15 games all of last season, four of which were with Columbus.

Jiricek, 18, came into this season with hopes of making the Blue Jackets roster, and though he has made his NHL debut, it is likely the organization would prefer to expose the young defenseman to a bigger role, which they cannot currently give him. Allowing Jiricek to play that role in the AHL and learn how to perform there may be more beneficial to his overall development than to play sparingly at the NHL level. Through five AHL games, Jiricek has four points, all assists.

Minnesota Wild Recall Adam Beckman, Joseph Cramarossa

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Continuing with a busy Sunday of roster moves, the Minnesota Wild announced that they are bringing a pair of forwards up from the AHL, recalling Adam Beckman and Joseph Cramarossa. The team did not announced any corresponding moves. The transaction brings the Wild up to 23 players on their roster, the maximum. Importantly, the team had only been carrying 12 forwards after re-assigning Steven Fogarty on Friday. Now, they should have additional assurance up front.

Beckman, 21, was a third-round pick of the Wild back in 2019 and made his NHL debut last season. After three impressive seasons with the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL, Beckman turned pro at the tail-end of the 2020-21 season, recording five points in nine games as a member of the Iowa Wild. The forward became a full-time pro last season, getting into 68 games for Iowa where he scored 11 goals to go with 23 assists. This season, the young forward is off to a fast start, scoring three goals with three assists in six games for Iowa.

A long-time AHL veteran, Cramarossa, 30, has spent three seasons in the Wild organization, primarily with Iowa. The veteran did manage to get into one NHL game last season, marking the third season in which he did so. the 30-year-old’s most prominent NHL action came back in 2016-17 as a member of the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks, where he recorded 10 points in 59 games. He’s had just five games of NHL action since then, but has become a reliable, physical forward at the AHL level. Cramarossa has four points and a whopping 23 penalty minutes in just eight games with Iowa to start this season.

Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Assign Drew O’Connor

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they’ve re-assigned forward Drew O’Connor to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. No corresponding move was announced. The move leaves Pittsburgh with 22 out of 23 roster spots filled, but does provide some breathing room away from their LTIR salary cap.

The Athletic’s Rob Rossi suggests the move could signal that Jeff Carter, who has missed the last three games with injury, but has not been on IR, will be returning imminently. As Rossi adds, Carter did participate in full team practice on Sunday. The Penguins next play on Wednesday in Washington against the Capitals, giving Carter another two full days to recuperate.

For O’Connor’s part, he’s been made familiar with the shuffle between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton since making his professional debut with the Penguins organization back in 2020-21. When he’s in the NHL lineup, O’Connor has played the role of depth forward nicely, albeit not contributing too much offensively. In the AHL, however, that offense is on full display, the 24-year-old nearly a point-per-game player for his career. So far this season, O’Connor has zero points in three NHL games, but six points–two goals and four assists–in eight AHL games.

Los Angeles Kings Loan Quinton Byfield To AHL

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The Los Angeles Kings have loaned young forward Quinton Byfield to the Ontario Reign of the AHL, the team announced this afternoon. No corresponding move has been announced. The moves comes after Byfield missed the previous six games due to illness.

After winning a regular job in the Kings lineup out of training camp, Byfield was off to a modest start to the season with three assists in eight games. The second-overall selection in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, Byfield hasn’t yet hit the ceiling the Kings may have been hoping for, however that doesn’t appear to be the reason for the assignment. According to Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider, the move appears to be one that will allow Byfield to get back into game shape after the illness.

That point was furthered by Kings head coach Todd McLellan, who spoke with Dooley. McLellan said Byfield being on the ice in the first place was a great sign, considering the forward had lost a lot of weight. McLellan added that he doesn’t believe a player should lose his place because of injury or illness and that no decision on Byfield or Rasmus Kupari, a fellow Kings first-round pick who has occupied Byfield’s place on the third line nicely, needs to be made yet because Byfield simply isn’t ready to play. Kupari has a goal and an assist in five games with the Kings so far this season.

Calgary Flames Place Michael Stone On IR

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Per the Calgary Flames twitter, the team placed defenseman Michael Stone on IR today. In a corresponding move, the team has recalled defensemen Nick DeSimone and Dennis Gilbert from the Calgary Wranglers of the AHL. The team did not disclose the nature of Stone’s injury and no word is available on the length of time he could miss. Prior to the transactions, the team had only been carrying 22 of 23 possible skaters, allowing them to call up both defensemen. The team now carries 13 forwards and eight defensemen.

It’s unclear how exactly the defenseman sustained his injury, however he did play just one 25-second shift in last night’s overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils before leaving the game. The 32-year-old has been a reliable piece of the recent Calgary build, filling the role as a seventh-defenseman in recent years. In fact, he played in just 11 regular season games last season while never going on IR or otherwise leaving the roster. The veteran had been off to a surprisingly hot start in 2022-23, receiving regular minutes. Through 10 games, he had a pair of goals and three assists.

DeSimone, 27, is a longtime AHL veteran, making his pro debut with the San Jose Barracuda back in 2016-17. Prior to his pro career, DeSimone spent three seasons at Union College. DeSimone, like Stone in the NHL, was off to a hot start this season on the blueline, recording six points in eight games with the Wranglers. Should he play with the Flames, it would mark his NHL debut.

Meanwhile, Gilbert, who just turned 26, hasn’t been around as long as DeSimone, but he has spent some time in the NHL, including 25 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, most recently in 2020-21. He’s not off to quite as hot of a start as DeSimone is, having yet to record a point in eight games in the AHL, but his NHL experience should be appreciated as Calgary tries to plug holes on the blueline as they embark on an east-coast road trip.

As a result of losing two players of their own, the Wranglers have recalled two players from the Rapid City Rush of the ECHL: forward Rory Kerins and defenseman Simon Lavigne.

Snapshots: Miller, Swayman, Blackwood, Orlov

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The Boston Bruins’ signing of defense prospect Mitchell Miller earlier this week surprised many, however given the nature of the signing, his eligibility to play in the AHL, where Boston intended to place him, or the NHL, where they hope he can play someday, was presumed. Earlier today, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman walked back those assumptions saying, in short, that Miller is not currently NHL eligible and may never be NHL eligible. Substack’s Sean Shapiro, in turn, reached out to the AHL for comment, who have yet to determine his eligibility because as they said, the defenseman is currently suspended in the NHL. Not surprisingly, this story continues to have frequently-changing developments, and this evening, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski shed more light on the current situation.

According to Wyshynski, the NHLPA tells ESPN that the league has not informed the union of any suspension against Miller or anything that would impact his eligibility. The NHLPA added that “there needs to be more info provided by NHL” as it relates to Bettman’s comments. Wyshynski adds that, per a source, Miller’s contract had been registered with the NHL and there was nothing official to stop the Bruins, or any other team, from signing him. This story is, of course, a difficult one for many reasons, however it is worth considering that, despite Miller’s past, he does gain certain rights within the NHL when he signs an official contract. Further, however the situation as to Miller plays out, it could have an impact on how future similar situations play out. Thus, a diligent, drawn-out review and discussion of all issues may be coming before anything is finalized.

  • The recent injury status of the Bruins hasn’t changed much in the past couple days. Recently, it was reported that goaltender Jeremy Swayman would be out week-to-week, while veteran center David Krejci was due back in the lineup tonight. Krejci is in fact playing tonight, however the Bruins did need to activate the center off of IR, which necessitated a corresponding move. In order to add Krejci, Boston has placed Swayman on IR, says The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa, who covers the team. Head coach Jim Montgomery, to avoid creating any additional concerns possibly raised by the transaction, reiterated to reporters, including Shinzawa, that Swayman is still considered week-to-week.
  • As relayed by New Jersey Devils team reporter Amanda Stein, head coach Lindy Ruff says that goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood will be seen by doctors back in New Jersey on Tuesday. Blackwood, who was injured in New Jersey’s 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night, had met with doctors in Calgary yesterday ahead of the team’s game against the Flames this evening. In response to the injury, but without wanting to place Blackwood on IR, at least not yet, the Devils recalled goaltender Akira Schmid from the AHL earlier today, sending down winger Andreas Johnsson. The Devils return home after tonight’s game and will next play at home Tuesday evening against these same Calgary Flames.
  • Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov left tonight’s game with a lower-body injury and is questionable to return, the team announced. It’s unclear what exactly caused the injury to Orlov, however he has played just 7:02 thus far as the Capitals lead the Arizona Coyotes 1-0 late in the second period.

Devils Recall Akira Schmid, Send Andreas Johnsson To AHL

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With Mackenzie Blackwood suffering a lower-body injury while stretching across to make a stop against Edmonton on Thursday, the Devils needed a second goaltender.  That second netminder will be Akira Schmid as the team announced today (Twitter link) that he has been recalled from AHL Utica.  To make room for him on the roster, winger Andreas Johnsson has been sent down to the Comets.

The 22-year-old Schmid has played in four games so far this season with Utica, posting a 1.97 GAA along with a .918 SV%, numbers that are considerably better than the ones that Nico Daws has put up so far which helped Schmid earn the nod.  He does have a bit of NHL experience having played in six games with the Devils last season but he struggled in those appearances to the tune of a 4.83 GAA and a save percentage of just .833.  Vitek Vanecek will likely get the bulk of the workload until Blackwood is able to return and no timeline has been provided on that front yet.

As for Johnsson, the 27-year-old actually had the second-best year of his career last season with New Jersey, collecting 13 goals and 22 points in 71 games.  However, with a $3.4MM AAV and a tenuous hold on a roster spot, the Devils correctly predicted that he’d pass through waivers unclaimed last month, allowing him to be shuffled back and forth as roster needs warrant.  He hasn’t played with the Devils this season and has six points in four games with the Comets so far.

Kings Recall Rasmus Kupari

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Saturday: Kupari’s stint in the minors was short-lived as the team announced that he has been recalled from Ontario and will be with the team for practice later today.

Friday: The Los Angeles Kings have sent Rasmus Kupari back to the minor leagues, as they return home for four games. Kupari was recalled on October 29 and is still waiver-exempt.

Now 22, the 2018 first-round pick has played in four games this season and recorded one assist. His play in the minor leagues has been inspiring, but it hasn’t turned into a regular spot in this year’s lineup. In 2021-22 he played 57 games and appeared to have taken the next step but with the emergence of other young players and the offseason acquisitions, the Kings’ roster is filled with talented forwards.

Even in the games he did play, Kupari only averaged 11:21 of ice time and not a single second on the powerplay. As a pending restricted free agent, this could have been a perfect platform year for the young forward. But unless something changes, it appears he’ll be heading into offseason negotiations without any legitimate NHL success.

The Kings are back in action tomorrow night against the Florida Panthers.

St. Louis Blues Activate Keean Washkurak, Assign To AHL

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As first reported by CapFriendly, the St. Louis Blues have removed prospect forward Keean Washkurak from their season-opening injured-reserve list, and assigned him to their AHL affiliate, the Springfield Thunderbirds. Washkurak had left wrist surgery after being injured in the preseason and is now ready to begin his sophomore professional campaign.

The 21-year-old forward was the Blues’ fifth-round choice at the 2019 draft and made his full professional debut last season with the Thunderbirds. A solid top-six forward at the junior level, Washkurak played in a bottom-six role last season and scored a healthy 13 goals and 23 points in 64 games. Washkurak also got some looks on the team’s power play, although he was not a major contributor there.

Now 21 years old and fully in the professional phase of his development, this season will go a long way in determining if an NHL future is in the cards for Washkurak. That makes his return to health after missing just eight of the Thunderbirds’ games so important.

Springfield has gotten off to an uneven start so far in the AHL, with a 4-3-1 record, and they will hope that Washkurak returning to their lineup can help them find the form they showed last season when they made a run to the Calder Cup Final.

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